WEGO police commission reorganizes

WESTTOWN — The Westtown-East Goshen Police Commission held its first meeting of the year Monday and reorganized with two new members.

East Goshen supervisor Charles W. Proctor and Westtown supervisor Charles P. Barber replaced outgoing commissioners Carmen Battavio and Carol DeWolf. Barber was nominated as the commission’s chairman, while Proctor will serve as vice chairman. Bob Miller, a supervisor from Thornbury, will remain on the commission.

Monday’s meeting featured the swearing in of six new part-time officers for the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department. Lt. William Cahill introduced each new officer and welcomed them to the force as they took their oath. He also acknowledged the new commission members and expressed optimism for the department’s future.

“We’re really going in the right direction here,” Cahill said. “I’m looking forward to working with you in the year 2013.”

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Monday’s meeting also featured the official announcement of the resignation of officer Tony Ruggieri, the former president of the Westtown-East Goshen Police Association and the department’s K9 officer.

In recent months there have been discussions over the future of the department’s K9 unit due to budget constraints and the need for a new K9 vehicle. The uncertainty of the K9 program’s future was met with concern from residents and some within the police department, but in the end the debate was ended with Ruggieri’s resignation.

The police commission Monday voted to formally retire the department’s K9, allowing Ruggieri to officially take ownership of the dog that has lived with him and his family for years. Ruggieri said he left the department for a position with Criminal Investigations Unit in the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.

Officer Ted Lewis, who has been with the department for more than 10 years and is also a paramedic, will now serve as the new president of the Westtown-East Goshen Police Association.

The future of the department remains unclear as the search for a permanent police chief continues. A search committee was scheduled to meet last Friday to evaluate candidates who interviewed for the position, and it is expected that final candidates will be presented to the townships soon.

A social media campaign launched by concerned residents and police supporters has been vocal online over the decision not to consider Cahill for the chief position. The group, which has no official connection to the police department or any of its officers, has voiced displeasure that Cahill was not interviewed after township officials declared a four-year college degree was one of the requirements for the position.

An online petition was started urging the township to reconsider the decision due to Cahill’s 25 plus years of service with the department. As of Monday the petition had more than 150 signatures.